Frozen
by D4cHilliN
Summary: Stephanie finds herself traveling up a snowy mountain with Ranger to hunt down a criminal. After tragic events, He is left badly injured and they retreat into a cabin. Will sparks fly? Or will they both become prey for the evil madman lurking about?
1. Prologue

* * *

_**Prologue**_

* * *

"Ranger?"

Stephanie Plum opened the door a crack and peeked in, her one eye scanning the area best it could. She waited a beat before opening it fully and walked in slowly, closing the door after her lightly. The room was dark and still as she sauntered upwards and poked her head around the corner. Finding nothing, she tiptoed towards the back and opened another door leading to a room.

"It's rude to go snooping through someones home."

She let out a loud shriek and spun around, startled by the sudden voice, striking out unconsciously. The man made no attempt to shield himself as her hand connected with his face in a slap. Her eyes widened when she realized who it was. Taking her hand back, she smiled nervously, her cheeks burning.

Ranger stood staring down at her, rubbing his cheek. He was dressed in his usual. Black long sleeves shirt, black jacket, black cargo pants tucked into black boots. Compared with his dark skin and dark hair, he always seemed to fade in with his surroundings. And if someone did recognized him, they either blushed from his killer good looks or went white with fear by his threatening glances. Stephanie did the latter.

"First you snoop in my house then you slap me?" He turned and walked towards the kitchen. Stephanie straightened up and followed after him with a frown.

"First off, I wasn't snooping." She took a seat on one of his stools. "Second, I'm sorry for slapping you but that's what you get for sneaking up on me."

"I wasn't sneaking. One of my men saw you come in." Ranger pulled out two cold waters out of the fridge. "I didn't exactly expect to find you in my room." He pitched one at her.

She caught it. "I wasn't IN you're room. Besides, you're the one who called me. I was looking for you!" Ranger had that almost smile on his lips and it made her angrier.

"I was meaning to catch you before you made it inside."He took a long pull of his drink. "I got caught up."

Stephanie looked at her bottle for a beat but decided to abandon it and set it on the table. "And what made you think I'd wait here all day?" He gave her that almost smile again and she rolled her eyes. "So what's the urgent news?"

"How badly are you in need of money?"

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Badly." His eyebrows raised a fraction. "By next month, I might have enough to buy some groceries and pay off my phone bill."

"Good." Ranger brought up a folder and slid it across the table to her.

She gave him a confused look and opened it to see a picture of a man. He was brown haired, cut short and black eyed. His skin was tan and the expression on his face wasn't friendly. The collar at his neck gave her the impression he was wearing a suit.

"His name is Fernado Li. Five Eight, one hundred and sixty pounds. Has an IQ over two hundred. Deals with anything illegal and easily accessible. You're regular white collar criminal."

"What race is he?"

"What does he look like?"

Stephanie stared at the picture for a second. "Maybe Italian."

"He's mixed. Asian, Chinese and Arab." Ranger took the folder and the photo back. "Italian?" She shrugged and his mouth twitched.

"So why'd I need to know about Fernado again?"

"Just thought you might like to know about the man we're going to be hunting down."

Stephanie froze. "Hunting down?"

"Fernado escaped from jail three days ago."

"That's not my problem."

The corners of Ranger's mouth raised slightly. "Now it is. You've been called into duty, Babe."

"What?! Why me?"

"You need money, don't you?"

Stephanie opened her mouth but closed it instantly. Of course she needed money. She always needed money. She bit her lip and mentally cursed. Well it wasn't like she had never hunted down a criminal before. Actually, she did it daily. This would just be like any other old job she got. Capture the guy and bring him back to justice. She had never really went after someone who had escaped from _jail_ though but hey, how hard could it be?

"Besides," Ranger shrugged, eyeing her intensely. "I thought you'd enjoy it. You're getting better at this bounty hunting thing."

She stared and gulped instinctively. "Isn't this a matter more for the police?" She asked, tapping her fingers against the table. Ranger grinned and said nothing. Stephanie did some mental knuckle cracking. "How much money are we talking here?"

She watched him cross his arms over his chest and lean on a long cabinet. "Enough."

She rolled her eyes. The man never gave a straight answer. "Well that could be from a billion dollars to a penny."

He pushed himself off the cabinet and walked around to her. "Or I could always pay you in..." He looked down at her chest. "Other ways."

Stephanie felt her face grow red and she swallowed. "I hope you're not making me do this for that."

He flashed her a full on smile. "Babe, if I wanted to we'd already be doing _that_."

"So you don't want to?" She heard herself say before she could stop herself. Teasing Ranger was something that should have been a huge 'No No' in _anyones_ book, especially hers yet whenever he decided to play, she had to fight back. To this day, she still hadn't won.

"Do you really want to know the answer to that?"

Stephanie bit her lip again. _Don't do it Steph_, she told herself. "Unless you have a better way of letting me know." _Oh jeez. _He reached for her shirt and she shrieked and leaned backwards, toppling off the stool and crashing onto the kitchen floor.

Ranger burst out in a fit of laughter, holding his stomach. She blinked, finding the outburst unexpected. The man had only laughed about three or four times in their recent history. He leaned over the stool to look down at her, a wide smile on his face. She frowned up at him, her face going red. "Don't mess with the master."

She stuck out her tongue. "Asshole."

One of his eyebrows raised. "Glad to be loved. Pick you up at Ten." That said, he turned to go.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Stephanie wobbled to her feet, chasing after him. "Ten!? Ten at night? Tonight?!"

He nodded, picking up his keys that had been on the bowl by the door. "Ten tonight."

"Why ten? Why tonight? Pick me up and take me where? Should I dress in black?"

He opened the door. "Ten because our flight leaves at eleven. Tonight because we need to get started fast and I still have to prep you. I'm taking you to an airport. Yes, dress in black and pack lightly."

"Airport? Flight? Pack!? Where are we going?"

An almost smile from him. "Asia." Then he was gone.

Stephanie stood staring at the door long after he had left, her eyebrows furrowed and eyes squinting. When her mind finally did comprehend, her eyes got wide and she opened the door and leaned out into the hallway which led to the elevator.

"_ASIA!?"_

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Review? :D

Thankies.


	2. Chapter One

* * *

_**Chapter One.**_

* * *

"Alright," Said an angry looking Joe Morelli, with hands on hips. "Tell me again why _you_ have to go?"

Stephanie sighed, stuffing a pair of jeans into her duffel bag. "Joe, we've already went through this."

"Humor me." His face was no nonsense and straight faced. She sighed again and turned to stare down at him as he stretched out over the bed. He had just came gotten home a few hours ago after working a case and even though he looked relaxed, his shoulders were stiff. Stephanie didn't like that. She had hoped to tell him about the little 'mission' with Ranger when he was in a good mood. Preferably, after they played hide the salami.

"I'm going because he asked me."

"That man has a _gang _off crazy, psycho madmen, just as huge and terrifying as he is, ready to kill anyone who sneezes too loud at his disposable and he wants you, The WORST bounty hunter in Trenton, NO, the wost bounty hunter in the WORLD, to go with him on an important _'mission'_?" The tone coming from Morelli told her that he was not in a good mood. At all.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes and felt her cheeks get red from anger. "FIRST of all, they are NOT crazy or terrifying or murderers." _Liar._"As a matter of fact, he IS taking a few of his 'gangbangers' to tag along as well. And second of all, I'm glad to know how you feel about my job and that you have such faith in me." She tried her best to match his tone and felt that she succeed at sounding just as irritated. Probably because she was.

Morelli threw his hands up in the air and got to his feet. "You're impossible."

She said nothing for a beat, packing her bag once more. "You think Ranger is terrifying?"

"No but you do."

Stephanie opened her mouth to retort but then thought better and shut her trap. He was right after all, more or less. She wouldn't use the word "terrifying" though. He was more like "Frighteningly complicated."Instead or facing that fact and staring at Morelli's know-it-all expression, she threw some extra shirts in her bag to keep herself occupied.

"You're also oblivious."

"Am I?" Stephanie zipped up her bag and moved to the bathroom. Morelli padded after her.

"Yes, you are. Do you ever wonder why Ranger always asks you to come along on everything he does?"

Stephanie sighed heavily. "Don't start with me. I'm seriously not in the mood." She was never in the mood actually.

Morelli raised his hands, in a silent surrender and grabbed his coat. He started out of her bedroom and she panicked, following him as he headed into the hallway towards the front door.

"Aren't you gonna drive me to the airport? See me off?"She asked him, biting her lip and wringing her hands.

He kept on walking. "Nah. I'm beat. I'm gonna go home and rest."

_He's acting nonchalant! _She thought angrily. "But..I'm not going to be back for a few days."

Morelli stopped, turned and grinned, giving her a small, friendly kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you then." He opened the front door to her apartment."Give my greetings to Ranger."And then he was gone.

If there was one thing Stephanie hated about her fights with Joe, it was how they would walk away, both angry and upset with their own thoughts in mind. But this was worst. He had never, in their recent history, NEVER acted like that. It was like he had given up. Completely. If only for that minute, it felt as if he was done. With the argument and her.

And Stephanie would be lying if she said it hadn't disturbed her to the core.

* * *

At exactly Ten o'clock, Stephanie heard a knock at her front door. She scrambled out of her bedroom, dutifully decked out in all black. Black, long sleeved, stretchy T-shirt, tight black pants, black furry boots and a short, stylish black jacket. She opened the door wide and almost freaked when she saw who stood behind it.

"I thought so." GrandmaMazur stoodthere, hands on hips, giving her a saucy look. Unfortunately, she was in all black too with a knit, cap on her stringy white hair. The site was surprising and a bit disturbing.

"What are you doing here!?" Stephanie asked, peeking out and checking the hallways. They were deserted. Grandma Mazur hustled her way inside the apartment and starting glancing around.

"I heard you were going on some top secret mission." The old woman stated, hiking up her frilly black dress. Stephanie had a thought that the dress was the only piece of black she owned. "And I heard you was going with that Latino man."

"Ranger."

"Yeah him. Where's he at?" Grandma Mazur craned her neck every which way. Stephanie put a hand to her eye to stop the twitching and felt a migraine coming on. She was tempted to ask Grandma Mazur who told her all that but the answer was pretty obvious. Stephanie suddenly regretted letting her mother know about her short disappearance.

The thing that nagged at her however was that she hadn't told her mother that the 'mission' included Ranger so how had Grandma Mazur known? "Who told you Ranger was coming?"

Grandma Mazur gave her a glance over. "Morelli did. You're dressed in all black too, ain't that his favorite color or something? Are you telling me Ranger ain't coming? I put on perfume and bought a whole new purse and he ain't coming?"

Stephanie's eyes narrowed subconsciously and her teeth clenched. If someone would have looked closer, steam could probably be seen coming out of her ears. So, Morelli had planned to ruin this didn't he? She felt her face burn. Maybe she was overreacting a tad? Maybe Morelli had just simply told Grandma Mazur because he was angry. Maybe he hadn't had an agenda to try and foil the trip?

"He also told me what time to be here."

Or maybe he had. Stephanie checked her watch and grabbed the old woman by the wrists. "Listen, you can't go okay? This is only for uh...bounty hunters and stuff. If Ranger sees you here, he might shoot you." Which was probably true but not for those reasons. She dragged Grandma Mazur out the door, stuffed her in the elevator and pressed the down button.

"Wait I left-" The doors to the elevator closed and down went Grandma. And then up came Ranger.

He stepped out of the elevator doors and nearly made Stephanie go into a panic attack. He was dressed in his usual. Black shirt, black cargo pants stuffed into black boots with a black windbreaker and his Seals hat covering his short hair. The expression on his face gave her the impression that he was amused.

"Your grandmother was dressed in all black." He told her.

Stephanie shrugged helplessly. "Night out on the town?" She laughed but he didn't. "Uh..did she see you?"

"No."

"She put on perfume and bought a new purse for you."

"I'm flattered."

"I thought you were coming at ten?"

"I was. I saw your grandmother though and stayed in the shadows."

Stephanie gave him a pained look. Smart man, she thought. "Morelli's mad at me."

"Is he?"

"He doesn't want me to go. Or..spend time with you...Period."

"Shocker."

"He tried to sabotage it." Stephanie said, her voice raising an octave due to the remaining anger at the idea. "He told Grandma Mazur to come over."

Ranger raised an eyebrow and she found it hard to tell if he was amused, annoyed or indifferent. "He must be pissed. Telling Grandma Mazur on us? That's a low blow."

Stephanie gave him a withered look. "I'll go get my bags and then we can go." She started off towards her apartment.

"_Bags_?" Ranger called. "I told you to pack lightly."

She turned to shoot him a smile. "I did."

* * *

"_**This **_is packing lightly?" Ranger asked as he stuffed the 5th suitcase of Stephanie's stuff into the back of his car. He would have put it in the trunk but she had already filled that up with her four other bags. He picked up the last bag, which was number six by his count, threw it in the back seat and slammed the door closed.

"Hey! Don't throw my stuff around." She pouted, pursing her lips. He gave her a look. "What? I have things in there. Personal items."

"Next time, don't pack personal items." He told her, walking around to the driver's side.

Next time? The thought made her a little nervous. Was he indicating that they'd have to travel across the world again or just making a simple statement? Boy, was she taking everything seriously today. "What did you pack? Socks and shoes? Normal people change clothes." She hadn't meant to sound so testy but her mood wasn't one of the best.

Ranger gave her an almost smile. "I packed the necessities."

"Which would consist of?"

"Clothes. Weapons. Condoms." Stephanie's throat went dry as he stared at her and then got into the car. She put a hand to her heart and felt it speed up.

"Great.." She muttered before getting into the car also. Maybe he was only joking? She turned to the man beside her and saw him start the car and drive out of her apartment's parking lot. _Maybe he hadn't really packed condoms? He was just trying to scare me? Or just being funny, which is actually unnatural for him._

Ranger turned his head and gave her another look that said alot before turning back to the road.

_Tch, yeah right,_ She thought, _and maybe rats would grow wings and take over the world._

* * *

Since, according to Ranger, they were running late, four minutes late to be exact, he briefed her in the car.

They were going to Asia but their destination was a country in Asia which happened to be Nepal.

"Now remember this because it comes in handy," He has told her, as they drove towards the airport. "Nepal has 75 districts. Seventy Five. The district we're going to is called Kathmandu which is the capital and also has a city named after it. It's also one of the few places that gives Mountain flights and where the Prime Minister is, who asked us to come."

"Why should we care about mountain flights?"

Ranger ignored the question. "So when we arrive, "He said, pulling into the New Jersey Airport. "We're going to meet up with Tank and Hal along with my contact named Junji. Lester and the others are staying here to hold down the fort. Junji is going to take us where we need to go and it's on there from."

Stephanie had tried to keep up with it all.

"Any questions?"

_Yeah, a whole bunch_, She thought in exasperation. _Like, what the heck are we doing again!? _All she remembered was Nepal and Seventy Five something. Why the hell did she have to remember the number of districts? Who knew! "Uh...yeah, were we suppose to pack guns?"

Ranger turned to look at her as he parked the car in the airport parking lot. "You didn't?"

"They didn't seem very necessary."

Ranger make a sound between a sigh and a huff. "Get out of the car."

"You sound angry."

"Get out."

Stephanie sighed and pouted and did as told, like a little girl being denied candy. "You don't have to get snippy." Snippy? Where the hell had that word come from?

"Snippy?" Ranger voiced her thoughts as he rounded to the trunk. She shrugged. "We're going after an A classed criminal and guns didn't seem _necessary_?"

"I don't like guns."

"Babe, you're a bounty hunter."

Stephanie pursed her lips again and he shook his head. "Are they even gonna let us through with weapons? Don't they check bags and stuff?"

Ranger shut the trunk closed after he had loaded out all of Stephanie's bags. "They don't check mines."

"What about when we get to Asia? Then they'll check."

Ranger shot her a look and an almost smile came to his lips again. "They don't check mines." He repeated. Then he started into the airport. Stephanie grabbed her remaining suitcases and things and followed, wondering vaguely about the car and who was going to take care of it.

* * *

Stephanie was estatic. Completely blissful, beaming and smiling and looking around like she was a puppy that had just got a bone. No one was going to believe this! She made a mental note to tell Lula and Connie about this when she returned. She hoped that the messages she left on their phones got to them.

Stephanie Plum, labeled "Worst Bounty Hunter in the World." Courtesy to Joe, was flying First Class! Her head was swirling.

"You look happy." She turned to see Ranger who was placing their things into the compartments above the seats. The cushioned, shiny, nice looking seats by the way.

"I've never flew First Class before." She told him, not being able to hide her excitement.

"I can tell." He looked amused and that made her happier.

"Are Hal and Tank flying on a different plane?"

"Yeah. They aren't in New Jersey right now. They'll meet us when we get there." He took a seat beside her which was weird because there were about 50 other open seats available.

Yesiree, it was only her and Ranger in this class.

"So do the people in Asia speak English?"

"Our contact will. But don't expect anyone else to. It isn't their native language."

The statement made her get a bit nervous. She wasn't good with people she couldn't understand. Her gaze went to something in the room an her face lit up."Oh my god, is that a T.V!?" Stephanie exclaimed, pointing at the ceiling.

"That's what they're called."

She started squealing and shaking her hands. "Well turn it on! Turn it on!" Ranger chuckled silently, and did as told. By his surprise, she poked him. "Hey mister, whats so funny?"

"Nothing. You just look cute when you're excited."

She turned away and regarded the T.V intensely to hide her red face. Hadn't he said he packed condoms before? She instantly felt guilty and zipped up her coat subconsciously. Ranger got a call on his phone and he took it, standing up and excusing himself. She heard a guy on the speakers say that the airplane was going to take off in a few and to buckle up.

Stephanie did as told, strapping on her seat belt and checking the emergency harnesses and what not. Afterwards, she snuggled into the seat and relaxed, watching some sort of game. Her mind traveled to what was to come when they arrived at Asia and then to Ranger and how he had looked at her. Then to Joe and their earlier conversation.

Or argument. Her stomach dropped and something like sorrow filled her heart. She had tried to forget about it since he had walked out but it wasn't going to great. Maybe she should have stayed? Argh, but this was her job for crying out loud! And she needed this money.

_"Do you ever wonder why Ranger always asks you to come along on everything he does?"_

Okay, so WHAT if her and Ranger had had one night stand before? It hadn't went anywhere and technically, Joe and her had been broken up so she hadn't cheated. Besides, Ranger kept his distance.

Sorta.

_"I'll see you then. Give my greetings to Ranger."_

That was the last sentence from Morelli that drifted into her mind before she fell asleep.

* * *

I finally updated. Look at that! :D I feel pretty proud of myself. And as for the actual states and districts, I looked them up on Google but other then that, I know NOTHING about them so please, just roll with it.

Now, you guys, do what you do best!

Read and Review :D Thanks.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Bah. Update.**_

**_Enjoy._**

* * *

_**Chapter Two**_

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Stephanie counted the bags around her feet to make sure she had them all. Afterwards, she craned her neck every which way to look for Ranger. It had taken them a few hours to arrive at the Kathmandu airport and a few more minutes to deport. True to his word, Ranger hadn't been checked as they passed through security but she had. Now, after she had collected all her bags and been searched, she couldn't find him.

The airport seemed so tiny to her at the moment because of all the people who were circulating around. Damn, she'd never be able to find him! Stephanie frowned in frustration and stood on her tip toes, trying to make herself taller to see over the crowd.

A tap on her shoulder made her jump and she spun around so fast she caught a headache.

Ranger raised an eyebrow at her. She glanced about; he had no suitcases. "Jumpy much?" He asked.

She narrowed her eyes. "Sorry. We're only after an _'A classed criminal'_ as you'd put it, why should I be jumpy?"

The corners of his lips twitched upwards. "Funny."

"Where'd you go?" She asked.

"To get our contact."

And that was when she spotted him. Stephanie tilted her head to the side as the man stepped forward to make his presence known. He wasn't necessarily tall but he wasn't short either. He was average, with dark, short hair that skimmed across his neck and fell over his forehead. His skin was a light brown and his eyes were dark and slitted, bushy eyebrows overshadowing them. He was wearing a grayish black, decorated collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, that showed off his bulk form, and blue jeans.

He was a hunk, in American standards and Stephanie couldn't help but roam his built body.

"Steph, meet Kamal. Kamal, this is Stephanie." Ranger introduced, a hint of a smile on his face. He thought she was amusing. She thought absently that Ranger had told her of a contact with a different name but made no comment about it.

Kamal smiled a smile that could have frozen the sun. "Hey what's up Stephanie, nice to meet you." He spoke English so clear and easily, her eyes opened slightly by surprise. It was like he had been raised there. Well, except for the accent. The accent made him more outlandish.

The man caught her look and smiled. "Nice to meet you too." She smiled back, sticking out her hand.

He waved if off. "Don't be so formal eh?" He patted her back and she blinked. "Ranger's told me all about you." He squinted at her. "Is it true that you've lost and/or ruined over 20 cars?"

She shot Ranger a look and he just grinned. "They were accidents."

The males exchanged a look, both smiling lightly and then Kamal motioned outside. "The Prime Minister hopes to meet you today as well. Shall we go?"

"Oh yes of course. I just have to get my bags-"

Kamal was already picking them up. "Please, let me take them. You are guests in our homeland afterall."

"Oh well, thanks."

"It's no problem, pretty lady" He winked at her and then started towards the wide, screen double doors leading outside.

She watched him go. _All_ of him. "Having a nice time staring at our contact's ass?" It was Ranger, his eyebrow raised.

Stephanie cleared her throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ranger's mouth twitched again. "Of course you don't." He lightly yanked a strand of her hair. "Just don't ogle too much or _Morelli_ might get jealous."

"Morelli? Don't you mean _you'd_ get jealous?"

"I don't get jealous babe."

"Nonsense. Everybody gets jealous."

"See? You've already miscalculated by putting me in the same group as 'e_verybody_'."

He was right. Ranger was too unique to be labeled.....or explained. "I bet I could make you jealous."

Ranger shot her a look. "I'd advise you not to. It won't be pretty." Then he picked up the remaining bags and was gone, following after Kamal. Stephanie gulped and brought up the rear, deciding that she wouldn't try it. After all, he was a man of his word and she could already visualize how it would turn out.

_'Not pretty'_ would have been an understatement.

* * *

"Wowwwww."

Ranger gave the brown haired woman a look, turning his neck slightly to stare at her as she stuck her face to the car that they were in, her nose smashed into it, staring out like a child staring at a carnival.

Kamal raised an eyebrow,"She doesn't get out much huh?"

Stephanie was smiling. She was excited about arriving at a whole new country. Oh jeez, she hoped that no one shot at her here. Bah, that'd probably never happen. Here, they didn't know her as bombshell Stephanie Plum. She was just another tourist to them.

Ranger, who sat beside Kamal in the passenger seat, turned back around. "How long is it gonna take to get there?"

It seemed like Kamal was driving as slow as possible but one glance out the window and they could see the holdup. Traffic was horrible now as they entered the city. Cars backed up for miles, it seemed. How did these people make it anywhere on time?

"Well, if we manage to beat the afternoon rush then we might be there in about 30 minutes."

Stephanie's eyes widened. "_Beat_ the afternoon rush? You mean_ this_ isn't the afternoon rush?" She motioned outside.

Kamal grinned. "This? You call this traffic? Lady, you haven't seen anything yet."

"I didn't sign up for this." She groaned.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad. Once we hit the main road it'll even out."

"How long until we hit the main road?" She asked.

Kamal leaned forward to stare out of the window. "Er....maybe about 30 more minutes."

Stephanie groaned again. "So, overall, it'll take us an hour to make it to the Prime Minister's house?" She got a nodd from their contact. "Ugh! I can't sit here for an hour! What if I have to go pee? What about lunch? I'm starving! I had to eat that smelly airplane food ALL day and-"

The males listened to her rant for a beat until Kamal said, "How in the world did you meet this girl again? She dosen't seem like....you're type."

"Long story."

Kamal watched the traffic. "I've got time."

"-And then we gotta stay in this small, cramped car! Is their an air conditioner? Because I'm burning up-" Stephanie continued.

"Oh man," Kamal sighed. "I got divorced so I wouldn't have to listen to complaining like this. How can you stand it?"

"She isn't always like this. She might just have jet lag." Ranger said.

"I thought you were suppose to get tired when you got jet lag?" They turned to watch Stephanie while she threw her hands in the air and kept right on ranting up a storm. "Hell, at least she looks cute when she's angry."

"And where are Tank and Hal!?" She screamed.

Kamal gave Ranger a raised eyebrow. "My men." He explained to their contact. "When they arrive, they'll call. Until then, we're on our own."

Stephanie didn't like the sound of that. "Alright so let me get this straight," She began, turning to Ranger.

"Oh lord." Kamal muttered.

"We're tracking down some high level criminal, by ourselves for the time being, traveling through the most populated city I've ever seen in my life. I have no gun, you have no suitcases. I'm physically exhausted, Jun over here is driving like a hermit and I need _coffee_."

"Wow, you're demanding." Kamal smiled.

"You have no idea." Ranger said.

Stephanie pursed her lips and crossed her arms. She didn't like being ignored or treated like a nuisance. Afterall, Ranger had _invited_ her along and thought she deserved some respect. Too bad she didn't have enough balls to voice her thoughts out loud. So, Stephanie Plum sat back and kept quiet and waited to see if the two men in front would start up a conversation. She was curious to see how close the two were.

It seemed as though hours passed and the car was deadly silent. The sounds of traffic outside were the only things penetrating the car. She should have known; riding in the car with Ranger was equivalent to living in an apartment with a hamster. He barely spoke and if he did send some sort of telepathic response, it was because he was either hungry or bored. Or some other emotion.

They pushed their way into the city and Stephanie realized what Kamal meant about_ "afternoon rush." _Cars were almost door to door with each other in the long lines of traffic down the streets. Horns were honking, some lights were out of use and people ignored the stop signs. Two accidents had created even more backup as some streets got isolated off with police tape.

This was worst then Jersey, she thought in amazement, _way_ worst.

Kamal seemed at ease though. "The prime minister is waiting in his office. We should get there before it gets...dark."

Stephanie jumped at the opportunity to talk. She hated silence. "So what exactly is a prime minister?"

"Prime ministers can be a lot of things." Kamal told her with a shrug. "But here, he's the head of the government."

"So he's the President?"

"Somewhat."

Silence drifted into the air again and she panicked. "So, what's he like?"

Kamal smirked. "He's an arrogant bastard, a pyromaniac and the most dumbest man alive. This guy makes the US president look like Albert Einstein."

Stephanie blinked and then glanced at Ranger in disbelief as if to confirm the words. Ranger's eyebrows raised slightly. "I wouldn't use those exact words."

"Oh please," Kamal said. "The last time Ranger talked to the PM, he clocked him."

This caused her mouth to drop open in surprise. She didn't think of Ranger as an openly violent man. She knew he killed people, albeit bad people, but he would never assault a man of such high status...would he?

"I didn't clock him." Ranger said. "He accidentally hit his head on the bunt of my gun."

Kamal grinned, he seemed to be enjoying himself. "You still using that lie?"

"I don't get it," Stephanie cut in. "If he's such an idiot, then why is he the Prime Minister? He should be impeached."

"Honey, this isn't the US." Kamal stated. "He's the prime minister because his daddy knows people and he rolls in high circles. It's all about power to him anyway. Nepal is just another place he can reign."

Stephanie was more then confused. US government seemed so much simpler. "He sounds like a dictator."

Kamal looked back to give her a wry smile but said nothing.

"Just try not to make him angry," Ranger told her. "You really don't have to say anything at all. He probably just wants to make sure we know what we're up against."

"What we're up against?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Fernado's pretty dangerous." Kamal said. "He's smart, clever and has a lot of muscle."

"You know who we're going after?" She asked.

"_Everyone_ knows."

"The Prime Minister should supply us with weapons." Ranger said, shooting her a look. Stephanie gulped, that means she'd have to carry a gun.

"How many weapons?"

"Enough." Ranger told her.

Kamal laughed, "You're gonna need the weapons. You do know that he's an-"

"A classed criminal." She croaked. "Right."

They had gotten considerably inside the city and Stephanie could see the people outside her window. It was still light out and the city was in full blast. Merchants were selling products, people were milling about; eating food, taking strolls, talking on phones. Nepal could have been mistaken for US land if one looked past the foreign made buildings, colorfully dressed people who were almost all dark skinned and horribly overpopulated places.

Kamal came to a stop outside a brown and black, beautifully made building with what looked like oak surrounding it. "This is it."

"Is he in there?" She asked.

Kamal frowned. "What? Naw, this isn't his house. I meant, _this is it. _This is how far we can go in this car. The streets are too narrow. Now we gotta get out and walk." He got out and shaded his eyes against the sunlight. Ranger followed suit. Stephanie sighed and then slid out also.

She breathed another sigh when she saw the city close up. Way too overcrowded. Way too many people. Kamal started to walk away and she felt a hand grab her elbow and lead her after him.

"Pay attention Stephanie," Ranger said into her ear, hand on her elbow. "If you get lost here, I'd never find you."

She gave him a look of disbelief. "Yeah right. I'm sure you have bugs planted all over me."

"I like to think I don't need bugs anymore."

"How many?"

"Four. Two in you're bags, one in you're pocket and one in you're purse."

"Oh hey, what about my bags and purse!? Who's gonna get them?" She tried to twist around and run back to the car but Ranger kept her steady forward.

"Kamal already has people on it."

"You and Kamal seem in tune to each other."

"Do we?"

"Yeah except he has a sense of humor."

"And I don't?" He steered her past a group of kids playing on the sidewalk, keeping Kamal in his line of vision.

"Sometimes. Not often."

Ranger smiled his almost smile. "I don't have much time for humor in my line of work."

"You don't have to keep working in that line."

"It's what I do best." Simple. Just like he said the first time they met.

"By the way, where the heck is that Fernado guy? Couldn't he be lurking around in all this pandemonium? Shouldn't we be on alert?"

Ranger gave her a look but said nothing. They kept on walking and she thought that she'd pass out. The sun was high in the sky, it was crowded and sweltering and they didn't seem to be getting any closer. Finally, after what seemed like days, Kamal came to a stop.

"Now this, _this_ is it."

Stephanie watched as he motioned towards a large, tall sharp pointed building that seemed like it touched the sky with billions of windows and two guards standing in front of the entrance. There was a path leading towards it which made it more isolated.

"Keep a smile on you're face, don't look him in the eye and be careful." Kamal told them, grinning. "This is where we part ways."

"You're leaving?" She asked.

"'Fraid so. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll meet again." He saluted them, Ranger nodded and then Kamal disappeared into the crowd.

"Looks like we're welcomed."Ranger said, watching the guards across the path open the door. Stephanie did some mental knuckle cracking and sighed.

"Alright. Show time?"

"More or less."

* * *

"Welcome back, old friend. It's nice to see you again."

Stephanie was standing beside Ranger, feeling ignored and belittled. After they traveled through the maze of a building with the security guards, they finally arrived at the Prime Minister's office.

He was bigger then she thought he'd be. Chubby, more so. With dark, dark skin and short dyed blond hair. He was a few inches taller then Ranger but had little muscle. His eyes were slanted and he was wearing faded jeans and a button down shirt that was too big. In all honesty, he didn't look like the President/Leader of anything. He looked like the spoiled rich kid.

And at the moment, the two men were intently focused on each other.

"Nice to see you too, Albert."

"Albert?" Stephanie voice aloud before she could stop herself. Both men, plus the two guards behind them at the door, all glanced at her like they had forgotten she was there.

Albert, Or the Prime Minister, furrowed his eyebrows and visibly bristled. "Who is she?"

"This is Stephanie. My partner."

"Does she have a problem with my name?"

"No, I was just expecting a...more...Nepali type name?" She shrugged sheepishly.

The PM shot Ranger a look. "Is she insulting me?"

Stephanie blew out a sigh. _Great first impression_. She was a bit ticked that he kept addressing Ranger instead of her also. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

Albert eyed her. "My birth name was Adripathi. It means _'Master of the Mountains'. _I didn't like it so I changed it to Albert. I don't know what Albert means."

Stephanie nodded and gave him a friendly, but nervous smile and got none in return. "So, " Albert said, turning to Ranger. "How are you enjoying you're time here?"

"It's interesting."

"Yes, I thought so. Did Junji meet you at the airport?"

"No, Kamal did."

Albert seemed confused by that but then waved it off. "Oh yes, that's right, Junji is...preoccupied."

"I understand that you want Stephanie and I to track down Fernado."

"Ah, always straight to business eh?" Albert went behind his desk and motioned for them to sit. They did. "Yes well, Fernado has been a thorn in my side for a long time. He was born and raised here. God only knows why he reverted to becoming a felon.

I've been trying to catch him forever but I just couldn't seem to pinpoint his location. He always fled one way or another. Two weeks ago, one of the pubs in the city was ransacked. Days later, another one was ransacked. Four days ago, we caught and arrested a man after another break in. Turns out, it was one of Fernado's people."

"So Fernado's back in town?" Stephanie spoke up.

Albert paid no attention to her. "We...._persuaded _the little slime ball to tell us where Fernado was and what Fernado was intending to do next. So the next time Fernado went trashing pubs in the night, we caught him."

Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"Well, _almost_ caught him. You get my drift." Albert waved it off. "He fought his way out and we chased him all the ways into the mountains until he just...vanished. I've sent people up there to look for him but we always come up empty. There's no way he could have gotten down, not after the four bullet holes we put into him."

"Mountains are big. He could have scaled down another way without you're men finding him." Ranger said. _Or he could be dead_, Stephanie thought.

"I suppose he could have." Albert shrugged. "That's the last we saw of him though. Only lead we got."

"How long has he been up there?" Ranger asked.

The Prime Minister shrugged. "Give or take, a few days."

"And you don't think he could have bled out from the gunshot wounds and died?"

"Maybe so? But Fernado's pretty strong. He's tacical. I don't know, I just don't see him dying like that. Either way, I want a body found."

"Any idea why he was going after your city's pubs?"

Albert just shrugged.

Ranger glanced at the brown haired girl beside him. "Looks a little suspicious to me."

"Hey, Fernado's a smart guy but he's crooked. Maybe he was looking for something?" Albert said.

"If he was, I intend to find out what."

Stephanie was caught off guard when the two men stood up and she hastily got to her feet also, hitting her toe on the Prime Minister's desk. Ranger and Albert were shaking hands when she stumbled after them towards the door.

"Everything you need is waiting for you on the third floor. If you have any questions, _anything _at all, just call my men or me." Albert was saying to him. "I really appreciate you doing this."

Stephanie followed Ranger out the room, down the winding halls and out the doors. As soon as they made it out of earshot, she grumbled, "He's so rude. He barely even looked at me!"

"Calm down, he's not used to women."

"Why the hell not?"

"He's been screwed over by a lot of them. Makes him wary."

Stephanie pursed her lips but said nothing. He was probably sexually deprived. "You didn't tell me that this Fernado guy was up in the mountains. How do we catch a guy in the mountains?"

"We figure out plan flights and follow after him."

The thought made her stomach lurch. "NO WAY! I don't do good in high places."

"Babe."

"I'm not going into the mountains."

"You're lucky I don't feel like arguing with you. I'll drop it. For now."

Stephanie frowned and crossed her arms under her breast. They both knew that she'd do anything he asked and that made her angry. Ranger had good persuasive skills. It wasn't that he could actually talk people into stuff. His persuasiveness relied more on how terrifyingly scary he was.

She didn't want to think about climbing up mountains right now so she decided to get to the matters at hand. "So now what?" She asked, as they came to a stop outside of building.

"Now we go to an inn, get some food and sleep. I'm exhausted."

She glanced at him. He didn't look exhausted. "Could have fooled me."

"I tough up for you."

"How charming."

Ranger have her a look and she felt her face flush. "Separate rooms right?"She asked.

"Unfortunately."

* * *

_Oh Jeez long chapter. You like?_

_Review and tell me please._

_Ciao._


	4. Chapter Three

How long?

How long has it been since an update? Days, months, years, centuries? Too damn long?

I agree. So...I guess I'm back? :D I am terribly sorry for this extremely delayed chapter and if enough people are still reading this I'll be quick on the next! ^_^

Sorry again...ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter...Three!

* * *

_This was insane. This was crazy This was unfair. This was a pain. This was…._

Stephanie sighed loudly and stomped her feet to try and rid them of snow. The attempt didn't do much but cause her feet to ache. With an over exaggerated groan, she wondered if a fall from on top a billion feet mountain would be deadly enough to kill her before impact. Wrapped in four layers of clothing, snow pants, thick boots and a fluffy hood surrounding her head, Stephanie was both irritated and infuriated that the clothing was doing virtually nothing against the cold winds whipping around. Her eyes traveled to lock onto the man walking before her and they flashed angrily.

_Dumb stupid Ranger and his dumb stupid body and his dumb stupid mouth and his dumb stupid skill to persuade me to do shit I didn't want to!_

She watched him trek on as if the weather didn't affect him and whimpered softly. How the hell did he do it? He was wearing less than her, was carrying more weapons than her and was still managing to walk faster, longer and without complaint. This was ridiculous. Even _Batman_ wasn't capable of this.

He started to get smaller and she hurried after him, marching up the trail with the grace of an elephant. She found herself pondering why in the world she was up here. She had been so adamant about her fear of heights and the fact that she wouldn't be caught dead on top of a mountain hunting down a criminal.

Now, she was walking up the twisting trail with Ranger leading the way, hunting down..oh what was his name?...Fernado! Hunting down a little punk named Fernado. And don't let her get started about Tank and Hal who were on their way up here as well, catching the next mountain flight out. Supposedly, they were to meet up with the large men at some cabin _Majesty Albert_ mentioned. It was agreed that the cabin was the regroup location.

Stephanie found all of this dumb. Why wouldn't they just stay in the helicopter and fly around until they spotted Fernado?

_Because he could be hiding_ was Ranger's flat reply.

What if he wasn't even on the damn mountain? She had countered back.

_Then we can scratch it off the list and forge on_ had been Tank's answer with a wide smile.

Stephanie swore that the males got a giant kick out of this. They were like giddy little teenagers waiting for a football game. Well, sorry for them, Stephanie hadn't gone to any of her high school football games. She had been too busy jumping off of garages and climbing trees. Which, in theory, made her sound like she was a daredevil and should have been just as excited climbing mountains but she wasn't. She preferred keeping both of her feet on the ground, all her limbs in tact and warmth floating through her body.

The brown haired woman groaned again and rubbed at her arms while she slumped after Ranger who was gaining a good four feet of distance. She tried to run up and catch him but four steps into the process, she felt a stitch in her side and stopped. Mentally berating herself for her lack of exercise, she cuffed her hands around her mouth and called out to him. Her voice was carried off with the wind however and soon enough, Ranger's form disappeared into the snowy fog.

* * *

Tank wasn't feeling too well.

Hal was next to him, the wind was increasing and his face was starting to sting. Of course, he'd never complain out loud about these things but he sure as hell could whine and bitch and moan in his mind. The prospect of traveling up a snowy mountain searching for a killer had been nice at first before he actually arrived on_ said_ mountain. There was no way someone could survive up here for as long as Fernado had been suspected to. Either they found his dead, frozen body or they didn't find him at all, that was for sure. And with this realization, Tank was instantly exasperated. He wanted to go home and go to sleep. He didn't feel like wasting time running around on wild goose chases. Stephanie had been right. This was crazy.

Okay fine, he thought, maybe he was being too much of a drama queen about this. Maybe he was just being a big baby about this. Maybe he was just irate and taking it out on the job. Or maybe it was the fact that they were hundreds of miles up on a mountain with low visibility.

And, so help him, Hal was singing. Or humming, to be more exact. A _Beyonce_ song, at that. No, the guy couldn't hum a manly song from 50 cent or Ludacris, he had to pick 'Single Ladies'. But that wasn't all. He was dancing as well. Tank wasn't sure if the dance moves were from the video or if he had made them up and, to be quite frank, the giant man wasn't sure which was worst.

"Knock it off." He grumbled, shoving Hal. The man blinked and stuck out his tongue. Tank rolled his eyes, wondering, for the third time, why the boss had chosen to bring this kid instead of someone else. Someone like….like…..Tank furrowed his eyebrows, sighed and shrugged. Compared to Santos who played around twenty four seven, Binkie who was afraid of spiders or Cal, the walking talking man-made idiot, he figured the man next to him wasn't so bad.

"If you like it then you should have put a ring on it. If you like it then you should have put a ring on it. Don't be mad when you see that he want it. If you like then you should have put a ring on it. Oh ho ho ho ho!"

Tank closed his eyes and growled.

Great. He was _singing_ it now.

* * *

Ranger squinted into the snowy winds and smiled.

The cabin.

Finally. After a good two hours of exploring this face of the mountain, they could retreat into the cabin and rest for a while. It had actually been Albert's idea for them to use the little wooden structure as a resort for relaxing. Apparently, the man assumed they'd be up there for quite some time. He had explained that the lone cabin had been placed there a ways back for travelers and sight seers'. According to him, it was the only one up here for the moment and that it was stocked full with anything they needed. Ranger was just glad the guy hadn't been lying. Even he was beginning to feel a bit exhausted.

"Babe, we -"

The rest of his words were left in his throat however because when he turned, he realized that Stephanie wasn't behind him anymore. The calm he had been experiencing throughout the entire trek was instantly replaced by calculated panic. His dark eyes flickered about, searching desperately through the fogs and snow to try and make out a form, a leg, anything. He strained his ears to hear a sound but all that came to them was the whistle of the wind.

"Babe!"

Nothing.

"Stephanie!"

No response.

Shit.

Ranger clenched his teeth and started back, a gnawing feeling in his gut and a heavy beating of his heart. _Why the hell hadn't I checked before now? Damn it, Ricardo, you knew she wasn't okay with this. You should have checked on her. You shouldn't have been so damn focused on the damn objective. Stephanie was supposed to be your _main_ objective. Son of a bitch._

The man quickened his pace against his better judgment. He could feel the ice underneath his feet and knew that he was a step away from slipping and falling but wasn't worrying about that at the moment. His mind was concentrated on finding Stephanie while managing to scold himself as well. He was balanced enough to keep his footing, he knew.

Then he heard it.

"Ranger!"

Distant. Barely audible. Feminine. Stephanie.

With a sigh of relief, he turned towards the voice and started forward at a jog, opening his mouth to call back. But, just as his foot connected with the ground, he felt something give way under it and pain shot up the limb, pulsating all the way to his knee. He heard a crack, stumbled forward in an attempt to maintain his equilibrium but went crashing headfirst into the snow covered ground instead. A flash of white hot pain appeared before his eyes and he saw darkness licking at the sides of his eyes before it captured him fully and he was gone.

* * *

BOOM BABY!

Tell me what you think :)


	5. Chapter Four

Heyyyyy (:

I've updated! So, you know what that means!

More for you, you, you and YOU! Haha. Hope you like ;)

* * *

Chapter Four

* * *

_Oh no._

_This wasn't good_, Stephanie thought instantly as she pushed through the aggressive wind pounding her face. She could see it even though the snow and wind was decreasing visibility tenfold. She could see the crumpled figure of a man, one that could have only been Ranger, lying flat on his stomach. She wasn't close enough to properly inspect him but she could swear that the scent of blood was wafting through her nose.

When she did dare to glance down at him, the sight struck her nerves so bad, she toppled to her knees before him. _Oh God..._

Ranger lay there on his stomach, his face turned sideways, eyes closed, arms folded under him. His right leg, bended and twisted at a terrifying, unnatural way, had been punctured by a very sharp piece of ice that looked damn intimidating. Stephanie could see where the ice had given way under Ranger's weight and she pictured the event in her head; Ranger running back to find her, stepping on the weak spot, crashing down. Her voice hitched as she looked it over. It had cut right up his calf, slicing right through. She could see the other half of the spike, poking out of his pants, indicating that it had broken through his thigh. A bright puddle of bright, red blood stained the snow. Blood ran off his face as well from a gash right below his hairline.

Stephanie didn't know she was crying until she felt her tears freeze against the unrelenting cold. "Ranger!" She began to scream. "Ranger, get up! Ranger!" She pressed her gloved hands to the cut on his forehead in a feeble attempt to stop the blood. 'Ranger, you have to get up!" She pleaded, eyes burning.

Nothing.

"RANGER!"

No response. No flicker on his face. He was out cold. Dead.

_NO! He wasn't dead_, she reassured herself, _he wasn't dead_._ Just hurt. That's all._

_But he will die, _the more tactical part of her mind countered_, if I don't get him up. He'll freeze to death or bleed out._

But, even as she thought this, she felt herself breaking down, shivering violently. The stragetic, calm Stephanie that had been created from dealing with so many tragedies in her past was no match against the hysteria enveloping her body. Whenever she was in trouble, someone _always_ came to her rescue. She might have had to be strong for a few minutes but she was no hero, she never could keep her cool in times of extreme dangers. If something really bad happened, Morelli or Ranger would be there, swooping in and saving the day.

_But_, she thought with a trembling body, _Morelli was millions and trillions of miles away and Ranger was_-

She was snapped from her depressing thoughts when Ranger groaned.

_RANGER'S ALIVE_!

Stephanie's face broke into a smile and sweet, sweet relief flooded her system. "Ranger! Ranger, can you hear me?" Her fright got the best of her and she shook him foolishly, hoping he wouldn't sink back into unconsciousness.

The moment her hands made contact to his back, however, he groaned louder and she grimaced before retreating back. "Oh crap- I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"Stephanie?" His voice was gruff and strained, obviously fighting against the pain. He tried to lift his head but immediately groaned after wards. "Aw fuck."

"You're hurt." She stated softly, wanting to help but afraid to touch him. The wind had picked up and snow was stinging her face but her mind was only concentrated on the injured man before her.

It was then when the memories of his fall returned and Ranger sighed. "How bad?"

"There's a cut on your face and your leg..." She bit her lip, afraid to explain the atrocious, ugly way his leg was now twisted and corrupt.

Ranger knew what her silence meant and he gritted his teeth, laid his palms face down on the cold, snowy ground and lifted himself up.

"Wait, Ranger no, don't...Let me help-"

"No." He spit out through clenched teeth. The pain vibrating in his leg was excruciating and a wrenching ache in his chest area made him break out in a sweat but he managed to flip himself around with only a grunt. He then pushed himself into a sitting position, breathing heavily, ignoring the blood running in his eyes. As soon as he saw his bent leg, he knew it was bad. A thick slab of ice had struck it and blood soaked what was left of his torn pants leg. Ranger wasted no time in stripping it away to survey the damage better.

That proved to be a very, stupid mistake.

He had been in so many sticky situations with lots of life threatening injuries so this was not particularly new to him. However, all the experience in the world didn't make him immune to the pain. As soon as the his leg became exposed to the gushing wind and stinging snow, a new kind of pain threatened to make him black out. He let out a shaky breath to keep from crying out. And, although he knew what needed to be done next, he dreaded it. Extremely.

The next few minutes of my life is going to_ suck_, he thought in agitation.

"Stephanie, I need you to pull that piece of ice out of my leg."

Her face portrayed such a sense of panic that Ranger suspected she would bolt at any second."Wha-what?"

"Pull it out." His voice was hard and he stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"Why can't you?" Stephanie asked, knowing how selfish she sounded but not caring. She had effectively been able to ignore his leg since the sight of it was making her nauseous and all the blood was making her head spin. There was no way she could both look at it and jerk that frightening shard of ice out of it.

"Because I'd have to bend and, not only is my head pounding unbearably, my ribs are hurting. Bad. I think a few are cracked. I wouldn't have asked if I could do it, Babe. Honest." His dark eyes flickered and she saw something that surprised her; fear. He was afraid. Ranger was afraid.

_No_, she thought absently, _he was hurt. Both physically and emotionally. He was hurt because this was a problem he couldn't fix on his own. He needed me._

With trembling hands, Stephanie reached out for his leg. "I'll t-t-try."

"No, you'll do it. Come on, you can do this, Stephanie." Even as he cheered her on, he stiffened. It wasn't going to come out easily, that much Ranger knew. No, she'd have to tug and yank and pull. He drew in a breath. The wind was increasing at a scary rate and snow was dropping at a fast. They needed to get out of this climate and warm up. He could see how cracked Stephanie's lips were, how red her cheeks were getting, the rigid way she moved. She was getting close to frostbite, he knew the signs. Not only that, but if he didn't get his leg bandaged and covered, there would be no saving it. Then again, if he bled out from internal bleeding, would that matter?

_Shut it, Ricardo. One thing at a time. Right now, you need to worry about a brown haired woman, who looks like she's about to faint, and help her get this slice of ice out of your damn leg._

"Okay, babe. Count of three, alright?"

Stephanie's hands had cupped one side of the ice splinter, the part sticking in his calf, and was holding onto it awkwardly, biting her lips in dismay, drawing blood from the tender skin. "Okay." Was her tightened response.

"One."

Stephanie breathed in deep.

"Two."

Ranger tensed.

"Three!"

All credit due, Ranger stayed conscious about ten minutes in before blackness wrapped him in its cocoon.

* * *

Aw. Poor him.

Liked it? ^_^ Let me know. Thanks for reading! More soon.


	6. Chapter Five

Hi :D I'm back.

* * *

Chapter Five

* * *

The pain was excruciating.

_There was no other accurate way to describe it_, Ranger thought. His teeth were gritted so hard that he was sure they would split right through the enamel and scatter upon the ground floor like bread crumbs.

His body had provided him with the small favor of passing out for the first ten minutes of the extraction but that was all he was granted. His mind was wide awake now, strikingly responsive and feeling every little slice of agony while Stephanie worked at getting the ice shard out of his leg. There were times when he couldn't bear the pain, where he would actually ordered her to stop but whenever she did, he made a point of yelling at her furiously to keep going.

All the while, tears streamed down her cheeks, her teeth chattered, her body shook but she didn't break down. She knew she was close to it, on the brink of it, but she never did. And, that small victory, made her proud.

An entire lifetime passed before the shard finally slid out and Stephanie shrieked in both triumph and fear, chucking it aside and watching it roll down the road and disappear into the fog of snow. Ranger slowly rolled his eyes up towards the sky, muttered something she couldn't catch and then stared down at his leg. There was a skinny gash that ran the length of his thigh that didn't seem at all serious. But he knew better. It might have been skinny but it ran deep. All the way through his thigh, making a jagged hole on the underside.

Ranger could feel the snow as it covered his leg and, for a moment, the coldness of it soothed the searing pain he had experienced. Soothed it so wonderfully, made it so deliciously numb that he almost laid back and fell asleep. Blackness licked at his eyes and he smiled dazedly, feeling doped and disorientated. His vision started to blur and slowly, his whole body started to go numb.

Stephanie watched him change before her eyes and she knew it wasn't a good sign. "Ranger?"

He didn't respond.

"Ranger?" Her voice raised. Scared, tense.

Nothing. He just sat there, looking lifeless.

"Ranger, please answer me. Please."

Silence.

"I can't do this on my own!"

The snow kept coming down, the wind continued to blow. Stephanie glanced around, calling out for help. She felt suffocated, felt walls closing in on them, felt death coming nearer. Reality seemed to fade out and all the sounds muted around her. And it was at the moment that it finally hit her.

Ranger wasn't going to get them out of this.

She felt so foolish now. Crouching down before Ranger, with his obviously broken leg and possible concussion, waiting on him to save them from a terrible fate. As if he really WAS Batman. Immune to anything, to everything.

_Ranger wasn't Batman_, she thought in anger. Fury at herself, at her lack of focus, at her childish behavior. _Grow up._

Reality crashed down around her and, with a sudden spur of determination, Stephanie bolted forward. Without a moment of hesitation, she stripped off her scarf, wrapped it around Ranger's wound and pulled tight. The action seemed to pull him out of the trance he had went in and he winced.

"Come on," Stephanie said, getting to her feet. "Come on, we gotta go."

"Go where?" Ranger asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. It was as if he didn't remember that he was laying on a snow covered ground, on top of a billion foot mountain in the worst state possible. Blood caked his hair, covered his left eye, his arm, his leg. A large knot had quickly formed on his hairline.

"To the cabin." She grabbed at his arm, using all her strength to try and pull him up but he didn't budge. She shielded her eyes against the snow, walked around to his back and tried to lift him up by his armpits to no avail.

I gotta get him up, she thought desperately, we gotta go now.

But how?

"You're going to have to help me, okay?" She told him, crouching down again to throw one of his arms around her shoulder. "I can support you but you gotta help me get you up. Can you do that?"

He stared at her quizzically and Stephanie held back a cry. What was wrong with him? Was he delusional or something? Was he experiencing some sort of trauma related nervous attack? Why did he look so nonchalant, so confused? What had she done to him? He stared at her harder, like he was trying to figure out when their roles had reversed.

"Ricardo!" She cried in an attempt to get through to him. "If we don't move soon, we are going to DIE out here!"

That seemed to break through his muddled consciousness and he nodded almost absently. It took a few tries but they worked together to get him standing successfully, a majority of his body weight leaning against Stephanie to reduce pressure on his injured leg. She bent down to pick up only one of their bags and left the others, knowing she wouldn't have been able to carry them all.

Together, they staggered forward into the snowy abyss.

* * *

People were here.

On HIS mountains.

Sure, Albert - _oh, how he hated that name. He never understood who would change their birth name to something so preposterous_- would have said that the mountains belonged to him but he was wrong.

The mountains were and would always be, Fernado's. And no one could make it otherwise, especially not some whimpering, idiotic snot-nosed, rich kid. Even if they shared blood.

But that was beside the point.

Fernado watched from his perch, eyes sharp and piercing. The two figures before him - both males, he figured out- were going ungraciously slow. They were obviously not as familiar with mountains as he. But who was?

The bulges under their clothes were apparent and he has known instantly that they were here searching for him. Why else would a bunch of muscle bound idiots be trekking around a mountain on a snowy, cold day in Nepal?

Which meant that that idiot Albert- _shudder_ - had called in someone to catch him. Whenever his own government failed him, Albert - _gags_- would call in other ones to do his dirty work. He wasn't smart or brave enough to do it himself, after all.

And he had called in _Americans_, at that. Fernado could tell by the sloppy way they moved, how ugly they looked. Americans were rodents of the universe, he thought bitterly, they weren't intelligent, weren't tactical, they couldn't survive way up in the mountains off of berries and other things.

Like he could.

The snow was a problem, Fernado would admit but it was also an advantage. It gave him camouflage. Up until now, he hadn't needed it. No helicopter would ever be able to find his hiding places, especially if they were being commanded by Albert- _disgusting_.

No way, The mountains were his home. Here, he was the boss. The king. The leader. The hunter.

He watched the two men stumble through the snow and wind and sleet and smirked.

And they were his prey.

* * *

When Stephanie finally found the cabin, she was so grateful she let out a hysterical giggle. Compared to the rest of the evening, finding it had been a piece of cake. She stumbled forward, doing her best to keep Ranger upright. He was dozing off, head bent down and she had slapped him repeatedly, knowing enough about head injuries and the problem if someone falls asleep with one. But her attempts were becoming futile. Ranger was becoming heavier, submitting to sleep and she nearly had to elbow him to get him to open his eyes.

With her last bit of strength, Stephanie heaved him all the way to the cabin, kicked open the door and deposited him on the floor before closing and locking them inside.

Then she gave herself a minute to sag against the door, breathing heavily, back hurting, exhaustion pulling her downward to sit on the floor.

Ranger moaned.

Stephanie crawled to him, looking him over. His eyes were squinted in pain and the blood from his leg gash had soaked her scarf right through.

No time to rest, she thought. Ranger needed to be tended to.

The cabin was small. Barely bigger than her apartment. There was a conventional fireplace off to the side, a den, a small kitchen and one bed...all in the same room. The only doors there led to the bathroom and outside. Stephanie emptied the bag she had brought along and sighed at its contents.

It was filled with woman's clothing, toothbrush, hair spray, lip stick, stun gun.

It was hers.

She couldn't have been lucky enough to grab Ranger's, of course. A stab of regret formed in her chest. Oh, how she wish she could have chosen more than one. She wish she could have checked to see which bag it was. Wish she had the time. Wish Ranger hadn't been hurt.

Stephanie stared at the man before her, lying on his back, still and her eyes widened. She slapped his cheek, called out his name, cried, pleaded and, after five painstaking seconds, he came back to her with a moan, soft brown eyes staring up at her, glazed in pain.

Anger fueled her resolve again. At herself for being so damn stupid. Ranger was hurt. She didn't have time to ponder other situations.

She thought about dragging him to the bed but her limbs screamed in protest and that would probably cause him even more pain so she stood up and started to check around in hope of finding something that could heal her partner.

Five minutes later, she came back with sheets, a first aid kit and alcohol. Whiskey, actually. She had never been known to drink and neither had Ranger but this was an impeccable time to start.

Kneeling down, Stephanie quickly unwrapped her scarf from his leg and surveyed the damage. She wasn't a doctor, but she was pretty sure it didn't look good. It looked ragged and worn, open to infection, bloody and swollen, bent and unnatural. With a few swipes of the towelettes, she had it cleaned of the blood and looking a bit better.

But it was far from great.

She bit her lip and glanced at the handsome, brown skinned face she had come to care about so much. His eyes weren't focused on her, they were looking beyond her. Ranger didn't even seem to be there anymore.

But he would sure be coming back to Earth in a second.

Holding the whiskey bottle up to Ranger's mouth, hoping it could numb some of the pain, she gently poured the antibiotic liquid into his wound.

The howl that escaped his mouth was unearthly.

* * *

Poor Ranger! ):

What do you think? Still interested!  
Let me know!


	7. Chapter Six

I changed the name of this story! If you hadn't noticed. But I'm sure you did, haha.

I started this in like...08 when I was around fourteen( I know know, it's taking me FOREVER to finish. But don't worry, I promise I will before I die!) I was looking at it like, "Love mixed with a little bit of danger?" Seriously? Is that the best my tiny creative mind could fetch out? I've grown so much since then I decided that the name had to go!

So, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the next installment of "Frozen" (: Enjoyyyyyyy.

* * *

Chapter Six

* * *

Ranger was fading.

After cleaning off his leg wound and wrapping gauze around it, Stephanie had worked up the courage to move him onto the bed. It had taken over a half an hour to make it happen.

Ten minutes to explain to him what she was planning to do, that he would have to help her. He had seemed to recede into his own mind, probably trying to bear the pain. His teeth had been clenched and when he finally comprehended her words, he nodded.

And thirty minutes to carry him all the way to the bed, help him crawl onto it and tuck him under the covers.

He was pale. Very pale. And his wound, amateurishly cleaned and covered by her, didn't look very good. She had cleaned off the cut on his forehead as well. It was jagged and raw but no longer leaking blood, which made her happy enough. He wasn't moving. He hadn't said much since he had screamed in pain while she operated on him. It broke her heart to see him so...so...

Vulnerable.

Stephanie knew that she had to do something productive to help him. Make some food, give him some water, do something. But she didn't know how to do two things at once. She needed to keep watch over him to make sure he didn't doze off. But if she didn't heat up the temperature in this cabin and get some food into both of their bellies, they'd freeze to death or starve. Possibly, the lather.

"Ranger?" Stephanie gently shook him and his eyes vibrated with warmth, coming out of a daze. He flicked his gaze to her. "Listen, you need to stay up. For at least a few hours. Okay?"

I waited for him to respond but he just continued to stare.

"Answer me. Are you listening?"

Slowly, he nodded.

Stephanie crossed the room to her bag, its contents spilled across the floor, and started picking through it. There wasn't much to salvage from it. Articles of her clothing, toothbrush, lipstick, stun gun, hair spray. She wished she had been more efficient like Ranger and packed more necessities. As she wandered into the kitchen, she called out, "Tell me about your daughter!"

He didn't say anything a long moment and Stephanie was about to rush out to wake him when he replied with a low, "Julie?"

She would need to keep him conscious, that much was established, so she would keep him talking while she searched the cabin. She wasn't sure what possessed her to touch onto the daughter topic though. Ranger had been married a while back, to a woman he had met in Miami, where his parents sent him after he got into too much trouble in Newark, New Jersey. He had many secrets and Stephanie had only uncovered about 10% of them. Which included his pre-martial life, his age, and the proposition of a Batcave.

Stephanie had met Julie once, under tense circumstances. The girl, who had only been ten years old at the time, had been kidnapped. Stephanie remembered how bravely she had handled the situation and how fierce her attitude had been.

"Yeah." She called, opening the wood cabinets. There was a wood stove sitting off to the back and three coolers lined up behind her. The cabinets were filled with miscellaneous things : frozen bread, cereal, soup, beans, condiments. Maybe not the most elaborate meals but meals nonetheless. "Do you see her often?"

"No." Ranger said. "No, I barely see her at all. Rachel virtually absolved me of parenting her."

Rachel was his ex-wife, remarried. "And you're okay with that?" She had never really questioned him about this before but, honestly, Stephanie was curious. She knew that he sent money towards Julie's well-being but aside from that, Ranger didn't seem to contact his daughter much. While she waited for him to answer, Stephanie searched the coolers. Milk, beer, water bottles, mayonnaise, butter.

"I have to be." It had taken him over five minutes to reply and his voice was slurred. "I'm not exactly father material. Rachel understood that."

Stephanie came out of the kitchen with two cans of soup and two plastic spoons. She handed him one. "How do you think Julie feels about that?"

Ranger opened the can of soup, used his spoon to scoop some up and put it in his mouth. "Cold."

Stephanie gave him a sympathetic look. She had tried to turn on the stove but it ran on wood and there must not have been any in there because it hadn't turned on, no matter how many times she tried.

"I suppose," He started, continuing to eat. "that Julie doesn't really care if I'm in her life or not." His color was beginning to return, his eyes weren't as dull. He shifted in the bed and Stephanie saw his mouth twitch down in pain. She carefully sat down beside him.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I've already put her life in danger. She's better off without me." He winced again.

"What hurts? Your leg?" Stephanie asked, jerking forward to assess his body.

He shook his head and his hand went to his stomach. "Ribs." He croaked. "I think they're broken."

Oh no, Stephanie thought, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. She wasn't a doctor, she didn't know how to fix broken ribs. She didn't know how badly they were injured. What if he had internal bleeding? She started to feel her chest heave up and down and breathed in deep to calm down. _Stay strong, stay strong._

"Stephanie?"

"Hm?" Her voice came out as a squeak and she mentally cursed herself.

"You look cold."

She glanced down at herself. Blood was splattered on her coat – his blood. Her fingers were starting to crack, snow was in her hair, there was a tingly feeling on her cheeks.

"Come here." Ranger pulled her against him and she gently laid her head on his chest. "Tell me about how you came about Rex. I wouldn't have pictured you with a hamster."

Stephanie squinted up at him and saw him smile. He was trying to make me feel better, she realized, he was trying to keep me from worrying. So she sighed and launched into the tale of how she had acquired Rex while, outside, the sun started to depart and night dominated the sky.

0o0o0o0o

Tank didn't know what was worse. The sun setting or being with Hal.

The man had started out singing, had gone to sulking and was now whining. He was cold, he was tired, they weren't covering enough ground, it was getting dark.

The bad thing was, Tank was beginning to get sucked into his ideals. They had been on this mountain top for at least two hours, trekking around in the hard snow and had found nothing. The big man was just about to tell Hal that they could wrap up and head to the cabin to regroup with the boss and Bombshell when something caught his eye.

In the bushes. A person. Or what looked like a person. A mountain cat? No, it was snowing too hard. They didn't travel around in the snow….did they? Maybe it was just his imagination because as soon as he spotted it, it vanished.

"What's up?" Hal asked, coming up beside him and looking in the direction Tank was staring. "See a ghost?" He joked, smirking.

"No. I just thought I saw a…..You know what, never mind." Tank turned. "Lets head to the-"

Tank was suddenly on the ground, pain exploding in his neck. He heard Hal screaming something, his visions started to blur and double, black spots began to cover his eyes. Something hot and wet was leaking onto his face. It dripped into his mouth and landed on his cheek.

Blood.

I need to get up, he told himself as he fought to stay conscious. He yelled out to Hal but didn't know if the man answered because his world swam into darkness.


End file.
